App Review: Keyring

I have about 8 mini membership cards on my keys and 2 more cards in my wallet. I’ve wanted to downsize everything for a while and now I finally can. I recently downloaded Keyring from the Android Market for $1.99. It’s developed by Froogloid, the company behind location navigation helper A2B which is also in the Market.  Keyring replaces all those cards and keytags by putting them on your Android phone.

The interface is very simple. When you open the app you are greeted with a blank screen and a button at the bottom that says, “Add Card”. When you tap the button it asks if your card has a barcode. You can then proceed with a barcode scan or say no and input your card number with the soft keyboard or the physical keyboard.

After the info is scanned or entered, you can pick the vendor from a preset list or input your own. The vendors also include a pic so that you can tell your cards apart by logo. If your vendor is not in the list you can submit a request to have it added to the list. The cool thing is that all the info for the vendors is stored by Froogloid and is constantly updated. That means you don’t have download the latest version to get new vendors. You also have the option when adding cards to set an extra description to the card.  At first I wondered why this would help but some people have multiple Delta Skymiles or Radisson Gold Reward cards.  Maybe you might have one for personal and one for work.

A feature that was added in the last update is a brightness control inside the app so you can get the best scan in each situation.  I have noticed in some stores that scans don’t always work.  In the app there is a quick guide for getting the best picture.  I’ve tried to use Keyring in as many situations as I can – traditional handheld scanners, scanners at the gas pump, and once even at the self checkout of the supermarket.  I’ve only been able to get it to work once at the self checkout so I’m not sure if its supposed to or not.   The one criticism I have is the barcodes and logos are saved on the SD card. If you delete your memory card or folder, you’re back to square one.  I understand the idea behind though as it does keep the app small and light on memory.

I can’t tell you how fun it is to see the looks on peoples faces when you stop at Best Buy or the gas station and pull your phone out to have your card scanned. Most people are intrigued and wonder, “Can my Blackberry or iPhone do that?” It just one more app that help bring Android to the forefront of innovation and integration into everyday life.